Ruined house in Alévga, a Turkish village abandoned in the early 1960s, south of the Kokkina enclave, Nicosia District, Cyprus


Alevga (Turkish: Alevkaya) is an abandoned village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, south of the Kokkina exclave but in an area still controlled by the Cypriot government. The village was almost exclusively inhabited by Turkish Cypriots prior to 1960. Although the population fluctuated in the first decades of the twentieth century, ultimately there was a steady increase from 60 in 1891 to 123 in 1960. All the Turkish inhabitants of Alevga/Alevkaya were displaced in 1964. The village was evacuated by UNFICYP in August 1964 when the area was under attack by General Grivas and the Greek Cypriot National Guard in the infamous Tyllira Battle. Most of the Turkish Cypriots of Alevga/Alevkaya sought refuge in the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Kokkina/Erenköy. They remained there until 1976 when they were once again moved to the Turkish-controlled part of the island, most settling in the Greek Cypriot village of Yialousa in the Karpasia/Karpaz peninsula. The village has remained abandoned since 1964; all of its houses and buildings are in ruins. A few ruined houses are used as sheepfolds by Greek Cypriot shepherds from nearby villages.


Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Alévga, Nicosia District, Cyprus
Photo credit: © will Perrett / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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